Once upon a time, in India, about a hundred years after the Buddha entered nirvana (that is, after Gautama Buddha died), there was an arhat named Upagupta, a holy man who had attained enlightenment.
Among his disciples was a certain monk. I do not know what Upagupta truly had in mind, but he was always warning this disciple:
“You must never approach women. If you approach a woman, you will fail to attain enlightenment and continue to revolve like a wheel, endlessly repeating the cycle of birth and death.”
He would give him this warning whenever the occasion arose.
The disciple thought to himself:
“What does my master see in me? I have already attained the fruit of arhatship. I have been separated from women for a long time and have never even touched one.”
The other disciples, too, thought it strange that their master should constantly warn such a venerable man.
One day, this monk had to go somewhere on business and came to a river that he needed to cross. A young woman was also trying to cross the river, but she stepped into a deep part of the water, was swept away by the current, and was about to drown.
“Monk over there, please help me!” she cried.
The monk thought about pretending not to hear her, but she was truly about to be swept away. He went over, took her by the hand, and helped her reach the bank.
The woman’s hand was soft, plump, and smooth. Even after they had reached dry land, the monk could not bring himself to let go of her hand.
The woman thought, “I want him to let go now. I want to leave.”
But the monk tightened his grip and said:
“Perhaps you and I have some karmic connection from a previous life. I have become deeply attracted to you. Won’t you grant me my desire?”
The woman replied:
“If I had not met you, I would have been swept away and died. You saved my life. The fact that I am alive now is due to your virtue. I cannot refuse what you ask of me.”
The monk took the woman’s hand and led her into a thicket of tall pampas grass.
“What I truly want is simply this.”
They entered the thicket, hidden from people’s sight. The monk opened the front of the woman’s clothing, opened his own clothing, and had intercourse with her.
“This would be terrible if anyone saw us here,” the monk thought.
He turned around to make sure that nobody was watching. Seeing that no one was there, he turned back with relief.
But lying on her back before him was not the young woman.
It was Upagupta.
The master smiled and said:
“What do you intend to do with an old Dharma master who is more than eighty years old? This is all because of your lust. The moment you touch a woman, you lose your senses.”
The monk tried to run away, but he could not, because his legs were tightly entangled with those of his master.
The master shouted loudly:
“It was because of your lustful desire that you wanted to do this. Now continue. Have intercourse with me. If you cannot do it, I will never forgive you. You lied to me and deceived me.”
At that moment, people passing along the road heard the loud shouting. Astonished, they came over to see what was happening.
The monk was caught between the legs of the old monk.
The old monk said:
“This monk is my disciple. Although I am nearly eighty years old, he tried to have intercourse with me and dragged me into this thicket.”
More and more people gathered, and many of them looked on in astonishment.
After everyone had seen what was happening, Upagupta got up and went with the monk to the great monastery. He struck the temple bell and summoned the people of the monastery.
When everyone had gathered, Upagupta told them the whole story.
After hearing it, some people laughed at the monk, while others mocked and insulted him.
The disciple was deeply ashamed and sorrowful. He felt as though his body were being crushed to pieces.
Because he so intensely regretted and grieved over what he had done, he immediately attained the fruit of anāgāmin, a higher stage of spiritual attainment beyond the initial stages.
It is said that Upagupta guided his disciple onto the path to enlightenment in a manner equal to that of the Buddha himself.
Upagupta (Wat Bowonniwet, Bangkok, Thailand)
[Translation]
Yoko Shibazaki / Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using chatGPT and Gemini to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[Commentary]
Yoko Shibazaki / Siro Inuzuka
Upagupta was from Mathura, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India, one of the great centers of Buddhist art, rivaling Gandhara. He is traditionally said to have been a teacher of King Ashoka.
Mathura Art: The Buddha and Indra (Śakra), c. 50–100 CE
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
●Japanese
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